Croft; Clyde Jorden

CROFT – Clyde J., 76, of Milton, Queens County, passed away peacefully at home on October 4, 2018. Born November 9, 1941 in Milton, Clyde was a son of the late Lester and Evelyn (Whynot) Croft. Clyde started out his working life at an early age and with very little “investment capital” yet managed to develop quite a thriving business. At various times, he operated a salvage yard and a busy towing service. He was recently recognized by the Queens Detachment of the RCMP for their appreciation of his ‘many years of dedicated towing and recovery services’. Clyde was a creative welder as evidenced by some of the art forms seen in his yard, in addition to all the other more standard jobs he did. He was an excellent provider for the four-legged creatures on his property, especially his cats. Though gruff and curmudgeonly on the exterior, Clyde had a mischievous sense of humour and loved to tease. Those who knew him learned early on to not bargain excessively with him as invariably prices would rise as a result. One also had to be mindful of avoiding anything that might cause one’s name to (very publicly) appear on Clyde’s Wall of Shame. It was far preferable to have one’s name carved into a growing pumpkin in his garden than to appear on the Wall. To many people, Clyde was quietly and remarkably generous; he will be missed by a multitude of souls. Clyde is survived by his son Jordan of Liverpool, his granddaughter Felicity of Dartmouth, his brothers Doug (Beverly) and David, both of Milton and several nieces and nephews. Also left to miss his presence are devoted friends and caretakers Ted Lavender, Kevin Croft, Lenny Patterson, Rod Ismaily and Gloria Zwicker who made Clyde’s last weeks and months much more bearable and allowed him to stay in his home as long as he did. Besides his parents, Clyde was predeceased by his brothers John, Elmer and William “Billy”; his niece Sherry Croft and loyal friend Glen Munroe. Visitation will be Sunday, October 7, 2018 from 7 until 9 p.m. in Chandlers’ Funeral Home, Liverpool. Funeral service will be Monday, October 8, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in Chandlers’ Funeral Chapel, Liverpool. Burial will be in Milton Community Cemetery. Flowers appreciated. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Queens S.P.C.A., Queens County branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses or to a charity of your choice. Online condolences may be made to www.chandlersfuneral.com Special thanks to Dr. Tim Woodford for his many home visits; Palliative Care Services coordinator Natalie Brooks; VON, Queens County Branch and Queens County Home Support Services.

Dearest Clyde, I won’t say on here what you use to call me, but I’ll Miss hearing it and all the other things you picked on me for every time i seen you. You made me laugh every encounter I had with you and will cherish and remember every thing! May you Rest In Peace, you will be DEEPLY missed by MANY!

SO SAD YO HEAR OF CLYDE PASSING. WE ALL KNEW HIS TIME WAS SHORT BUT IT WAS STILL HARD TO GET OVER IT. I GOT TO VISIT HIM OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS,ADRIAN CONRAD AND WAYNE WOODWORTH. RIP. CLYDE GOING TO BE MISSED.

It is hard to express he great joy I had with the many times I spent speaking with Clyde. I found him to be an extremely intelligent and funny man. Clyde’s footsteps coming up the stares to my office may now be silenced but his memory shall not be so.

With heavy hearts we would like to send our deepest sympathy to all clydes friends and family .Will miss your weekly visits every Sunday night .rest easy my friend a.k.a Gramp till we meet again forever in our hearts

He was truly a wonderful person. Tough on the outside but kind as a kitten on the inside. I remember my son and his friends would go there when they were teenagers. My son told me many stories. He said that every time he would go there Clyde would have his hands full of grease and try to rub his head. Clyde loved the when the teenagers would visit. He would always have something funny to say. Clyde will always be remembered by many many people. May you rest in peace. God Bless!

Clyde, you were truly a GREAT MAN, when I moved to Liverpool over 30 years ago you gave me a place to work and looked after me like no other, always joking and carrying on, was truly the BEST job I have ever had, and even after I left I still loved to come see you and have a yarn and also to buy parts, all my cars came from you, when I used to go to get parts you ALWAYS said to me ” scumbag your money ain’t no good today ” you always knew I’d be back and square up with you, the world has lost a true diamond in the rough, gods speed my friend, till we meet again.

One of a kind Clyde! Will miss you and your teasing,the unique names you had for numerous people! Never knew what would come out of your mouth but it was usually funny. You were a rough.tough cream puff and will be missed by many,many people. Condolences to Ted, Kevin, Lenny,Gloria and the rest of Clyde’s family .Rest in Peace Clyde.

Clyde spent many evenings with my family (Pam) when I was a teenager in the early 1980’s. I would always arrive home after a late night babysitting to be greeted with either a basket full of clothes on my bed or a couple of dirty old tires under my covers. Clyde was a good man, with a wicked sense of humor. Took care of a lot of people in his day. He will be missed.

Sorry to hear of Clyde,s passing. He was quit the character when it come to buying something from him.,always liked to pick at me. He will be sadly missed . Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

R.I.P. Clyde. I’ll never forget the time when you pulled a good one on me, over at Dagley’s Irving. Getting ready to leave the place I went to my old “chicken truck” and as I was about to open the door, your greased my door handles. LOL You got me good old friend take care

I met Clyde for the first time when I was 17 in Dixie Lee behind the Met.He stared at me all the while I was waiting for my food. When I sat in the parking lot eating it at 12am….He pulled up beside me in his truck,,, Looked at me ..and said ‘who are you?.lol…Over my teenage years and twenties he helped me at times when I had little money to keep my vehicles running.As he has done with so many.He was ICON for this area and he will be sadly missed. Rest in Peace

Condolences to all of Clyde’s family, you were a tough old fart,lol, but you were always a great help to my family, I was terrified of you when I first met you then I grew to know you were a clown on the inside, I hope you rest easy, you will be missed by so many, cheers my friend

I’m sorry to hear of Clyde’s passing, and my heart felt condolences go out to his family, and friends. He was truly one of a kind, and I have many memories of his antics. My favorite was when people would try to beat him down on price, and his price would go up. HAHAHA He will be remembered by me for joking, and cutting up.

To the croft family So sorry about the passing of clyde .I will remember his quick wit and our arguments that I could never win .he was a very kind man he had such a good heart. I will miss him truly. take comfort in each other at this difficult time Love sheila cunningham brannen

So sorry to hear of clydes passing he is for sure going to be missed by a lot of the community in my eyes he was an icon and was also a very tormenting person didn’t matter where he saw me he was always getting full of grease he would even chase me when i would go over for a car part there will never like him R.I.P.Clyde

I’m so sad to hear this and will miss you lots! We loved to torment each other and I’ll miss hearing you yell hello Mrs MacDonald every time you’d see me and try to teach my son to stick his tongue out. The times you’d decorate my car in the parking lot with MacDonald bags I’ll cherish the memories of them all. Rest easy Clyde it won’t be the same without you

Clyde was one of a kind , with a verry serious personality , ” He always told it like it was ” He had a verry good judge of character , and if he liked you , he liked you , and that was the way it was . Sometimes hard to tell if he was being serious or just teasing …. that was Clyde …. One never knew what he was going to come up with next , say or do funny …. Had many laughs with him and Lenny at the garage …. Clyde will be missed by many. …. Sending our condolences to Clydes family …. And to Lenny we are so sorry for your loss , you were a very devoted , close friend to Clyde for many years , from working there in the garage , helping him run his towing business , looking after him and staying with him when he had his hip surgery and looking after him and staying with him throughout his illness . …. Everryone knows how much you thought of Clyde , and he thought the world of you also . Rest assured that he appreciated everything that you have done for him over the years …. We know you will miss him tons …. Rest Easy Clyde .

When I was young I dealt with Clyde alot. More than once Clyde would hand me a wrench and say the part is on a car, whatever row and I would go get the part myself. Of course he didn’t charge much. That was Clyde. He always had a joke and loved to tease everyone. He was a good man and will be missed by the community.

One man that could say anything and get away with it .. God love him anytime we see him he always say to me you still with that guy referring to my husband (Doug) what you doing with him lol . He’s a well know character to our community and will be missed by all . He suffers no more may he be at peace he’s probably looking down on us now and chuckling or talking about one of us . Rest easy prayers to family and friends at this time . Love one another ❤️.

Clyde was one of a kind . I spent a good many nights listening at his stories in the shop and watching him pick on just about everyone that entered the garage , lots of laughs were had with each visit . You will be missed my friend may you rest in peace . thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Clyde was amazingly unique. If I saw him in Liverpool, we always had a yarn. He helped a lot of people and enjoyed it for sure. He bought several people health sheets for Christmas and other things. Nothing cheap. He will be missed by many. Condolences to His Family.

To family and friends..so very sorry to hear of Clyde passing ….he was a very well loved man …whether he knew it or not …he will be sadly missed …our prayers and thoughts are with you in theses days to come …

I got to know Clyde through my work with the Queens RCMP. Clyde was a little rough around the edges, but don’t let that fool you. This man was sharp as a tack. Clyde was also a very generous and funny man. The community of Milton will surely miss him. My condolences go out to his family and friends.

I remember going up to Clyde’s many times over the years. He always helped me out although it usually came at a price of some joking around pranks or picking. His sense of humor was one of a kind ! I remember one time going up and he told us the part we needed was way down in the back of the junkyard. No such part was there, but it did give him enough time to rig up a can and some nuts and bolts with wire, to the axle of the car so it would make a bunch of noise as we drove away. Always liked going up to see clyde. Queens county won’t be the same without him. He was ruff on the outside but once you got to know him, you soon realized he was truly kind and had a big heart. RIP clyde.

I think you’ld be hard pressed to find anyone in Queens County and beyond whose life wasn’t touched in some way by this man. I was always a little scared of him but I think he liked it that way 😉 He was always there when my family needed him. Like Stedman gruff and tough on the outside and a teddy bear at heart. You two have some catching up to do. Rest in peace but I know you’ll keep your mischievous soul alive. I’ll think of you every time i turn the key… My deepest condolences to all.

You will be missed for that I am certain . I have to look back and laugh , so many times you chased me around and around my mothers car saying gimme a kiss and trying to wipe grease on my face just anything to get a rise outta me anytime I was over there and it worked it definitely did ! I hope you and mom have a banter or two wherever you are she always enjoyed going over to get parts and “chew” at you . I remember the time you loaded my grocery cart with cat food when I had my back turned you crazy bugger I didn’t even have a cat so imagine my surprise when I got to the checkout ! RIP “you old fool”

To Clydes family: so sorry for your loss, but to all of us who knew him ; so sorry for our loss too. This man could make anyone cringe with his form of wit or make us laugh when we shouldn’t. This community will miss his humour, kindness and all that he was for a very long time. Pam

Clyde you will be missed by so many. It will be hard to imagine not seeing you driving your tow truck through town. Whenever my 5 year old grandson Luca saw you when he was with me, he would always yell out “there’s Clyde”! He said many times “Clyde is my best friend”. He is certainly going to miss his trips with Daddy and Grampy Ted to visit with you and walk through the junk yard. Rest in Peace Clyde. There will be no other like you. You were an icon.

I met Clyde many years ago when I transferred here to the Liverpool detachment.Clyde was our go to guy whenever we needed a tow truck he was depend able day or night.He had a great sense of humour during those times we worked together.My condolences to the Croft family.

I spent alot of years up there when I was young like we all did …. bought alot of vechiles and when I would come up to play at the tavern years later I would go up to see him and he would say …UP TO MAKE SOME NOISE AGAIN THIS WEEKEND … I wrote a song later and put him in the song… it’s the end of an era but one of the nicest people you could ever know … it was a pleasure to know him ….

Clyde was truly one of a kind. Rough on the outside for sure but always willing to do what he can to get your car back on the road. More times than I care to admit I have been up there late at night getting my old clunkers fixed so I could get to work the next day or calling him for a tow from somewhere on the 103. Never have I been able to pay him on the first visit. Usually takes 2 or 3 trips to get a price from him but that’s ok I always enjoyed going up there and joking around with him. Always a laugh. Clyde will be missed for sure. Condolences to his family. Andrew(little boathouse) Kelly and Rebecca.

Sorry to read of Clyde’s passing, He was a customer of mine during the 60’s – 70’s , Clyde was never the first call of the day, His word was his bond, Loved life, loved to tease, and haggle on price whether buying or selling. Clyde became one of my fun stops, He was a good man. my condolences to the family. Walter Giffin

We are so very sad to hear of Clyde’s death. I visited him a few times over the last few weeks and we were still wheeling and dealing, talking about old times. My children and grandchildren loved to go up to Clyde’s for a visit just to look at everything he had back in the pasture. They never came home empty handed. I am going to miss you dropping down to see if I had anything I wanted to part with…I am going to miss you old friend. Norman and Faye Levy

To the Croft Family: Clyde was a person who loved to torment,it would make his day.In my 40 years of selling cars I sold more to him then anyone.Many hours were spent with him in making a deal.Clyde was well known and liked by many.

Good Bye My old friend,I will always miss you as your family will.I grew up with Clyde and never Knew what he would say next.lol .He was a bit gruff on the outside but a cream puff on the inside.He always told you what things would cost and was a wonderful guy.To His Family I Hope GOD Will help you all through this.Allan

Very sorry to hear of Clyde’s passing.He was a great man always had something smart to say.Definately like to pick on people.He always made sure Danny and Nick got out to Greenfield dragway.He will for sure be missed ,but never forgotten.Thinking of you all at this difficult time.R.I.P. Till we meet again See you at the track

Rip Cranky old man …You have helped us out too many times to remember. I always appreciated your honesty and willingness to speak ur mind about anything and everything. You always treated us well. We both enjoyed talking about your cats, no worries I will visit ” Lenny” the cat. I’ll truly miss seeing you around and seeing your smile, you definitely been a memorable person in my life, thank you.

Well Clyde, It is hard to believe that you have died.I know that you were afraid of death but it comes to us all. Fear is bad. I am glad we had two great visits. We talked about so much. Gram, what you did for her and how I cared for her. How you missed her so much. The letters we shared over the years during my time out west. How Gram and I would pick blueberries every summer for you. Then you would take Timmy and I to the summer fairs, digging clams up to the west. Our trips with you in the blue dart or old tow truck. Thank you Clyde for being a kind man to a young child.

To all the family Our heartfelt sympathy at the loss of a special man Clyde ,He will certainly be missed by everyone , Milton will never be the same driving by knowing he’s no longer with us , but in a place with no pain and suffering anymore. He left us with alot of memories to hold close

CLYDE YOU ARE NOW AT PEACE BUT LOOK OUT HEAVEN YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT CLYDE MAY DO. HE SEEMS TO BE TOUGH BUT NOTHING BUT A PUSSY CAT INSIDE . EVERYONE WILL BE MISSING YOU AND ALL THE CRAZY THINGS YOU SAID AND HAVE DONE. RIP UNCLE CLYDE

Clyde was well known in not only Liverpool but all of Queens and probably further outside. I knew who he was, but my older siblings and parents would have. I grew up with his son – Jordan. My condolences to the family of Clyde.

Clyde was one of a kind. A man of many jokes and Pranks, who had a nickname for many. He has left a big void in the community and beyond. One prank that will stand out, we had out car up there to get tires changed, we had firefighter plates on the car, both front and back…got the car back, tires all good…must have driven the car atleast 2 weeks before someone noticed the front plate was turned upside down… when we saw him a few days later, kevin asked him about it…he laughed “you are lucky it was only the front Wiggle Waggle”, he replied…as that was Kevin’s nickname… May you be at peace and free from pain. You will be missed immensely.

The community has certainly lost i true icon. He touched many lives. He had a great sense of humour and a tremendous heart that may not have shown on the exterior but is evident with how many people he has helped over the years. I enjoyed the occasional visits with him when looking for auto parts And the visits he would make to the shop. R.I.P Clyde

TO JORDAN AND FAMILY . SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOUR DAD PASSED AWAY . HE SURE WILL BE MISSED . RIP . THE PAIN IS OVER . HE WAS A GREAT GUY . NEVER QUITE KNEW WHAT HE WAS ABOUT TO SAY . WE LEARNED ONE THING ABOUT CLYDE DONT EVER TRY TO BEAT HIM DOWN . THE PRICE KEPT GOING UP . LOL HE WAS ONE IN A MILLONN . CONDOLENCES GOI OUT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY . BRENDA LAWRENCE AND JIM HUBLEY .

I used to go up to the junk yard all the time with my dad and explore all the old cars you will be missed and now the name minni boathouse is retired Clyde you where the only one i would ever let call me that R.I.P

From rummaging for bicycle parts in the late 70”s to scouting for truck parts in the late 80”s on….. spent hrs and hrs in those old trucks and knew where every one was hidden ….. Clyde never disappointed with his charm lol. Definitely an end of an era and will be missed…… sending our condolences to the family and friends RIP

milton will not be the same with Clyde gone .Clyde was well known far and wide, we who knew him knew not to say “How Much?” because it would go up price . He will be missed keep him in your hearts and minds, he will never be forgotten R I P Clyde

Sad news. Clyde was a fixture in Milton and beyond. I can’t count how many times Glenn would go looking for a part, and Clyde would hand him a wrench and general directions to the vehicle that had that part! Our girls loved going too – roaming around the junked cars, or joking with Clyde. He moved a few sheds for our family too. Our condolences to all who loved him.

Condolences to all the family and friends and to the Milton community, he will be missed. I was fortunate to have had a few chuckles with Clyde while he came into the Milton Vet Clinic, the man loved his animals for sure. Another good one gone ……

Sad to see this news. My late husband Gerald used to go to Clyde for parts and for his “burn” barrels that he loved. He would tell me stories of how he went to the back yard and how interesting the collection there was and about the names on the wall …the “wall of shame”. I finally got to meet Clyde and he was just as much a character as Gerald told me. He reminded me of many folks from the Miramichi where we grew up and he was unique to use a word that fit him perfectly. He certainly touched a lot of folks here in this community and he will certainly be missed. RIP.

I dont have any memorable memories of Clyde. I used to wait on him in my Sobeys days. I’m sure if I thought hard enough I could find something to laugh about. I have however for about 8 years called my white Shitzu , Clyde Crofts dog bubba. Why you ask? Miley loves to hang out in buildings, roll on grounds when wet from having a bath. Always dirty looking. If you knew Clyde you knew Bubba. May they both be reunited . Rest easy Clyde.

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